Interesting about the tea leaf paradox. When I lived in China, I got annoyed with the bits of tea in my cup. They stuck to the sides of the cup and would go in my mouth. Perhaps stirring would've helped!

In Japan, there is no need to stir the tea because it sits in a strainer. The leaves don't get into the cup.

Stirring tea leaves especially green tea will make it bitter. The tip of green tea leaves is very sensitive to heat. Usually I will pour at the side of the pot or Gaiwan and let the water encompass the leaves from the side. It just my observation and preference, you should experiment to see it for yourself.

Teaism wrote:Stirring tea leaves especially green tea will make it bitter. The tip of green tea leaves is very sensitive to heat. Usually I will pour at the side of the pot or Gaiwan and let the water encompass the leaves from the side. It just my observation and preference, you should experiment to see it for yourself.

Happy New Year!Cheers!

Starting to try this myself, but I have some difficulty getting an even stream from my measuring cup. Pretty generally I end up knocking the leaves everywhere, which stirs them.